Is there a need for water washes ?

muscleman said:
what is coin op or touchless ?
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A "coin op" is a car wash where you pull into a bay, pay a couple bucks in quarters (coins), and use a built-in pressure washer. You can choose a variety of cheap soaps, etc. I just do the 'high pressure rinse' to knock junk off. It's the equivalent of taking out a pressure washer.

The touchless is an automatic car wash that doesn't have any brushes or anything that 'touches' the car. So it won't scratch the car.
 
I only use the old fashioned house and bucket. I've never had any water restrictions but wouldn't bother me a bit to break that rule.
 
I mean.. I can see how waterless/rinse less washes are okay if you have minimal dirt/dust on your car..

But doing this type of wash if you haven't washed your car in 2-3 weeks might not be the best idea.
 
I have not started my business quit yet as I myself am in the researching phase... but .. it seems to me that doing waterless or rinseless washes are a good idea especially the logistics of it. I think having a nomad pressure washer handy will help with the wheel wells or super dirty bottom panels. .Just my two cents. OR you might want to check out Garry deans new low pressure system.
 
My friend has a black company car and it had a lot of minor scratches. He has been doing waterless washes with Pinnacle Waterless all winter, the car is covered in salt, and he actually has less scratches now. If my vehicle is covered in salt, I will only do a traditional two bucket wash with a hose. If the car is just a little dirty from driving in rain I will do a rinseless. I am not a big fan of waterless unless the car just has dust from a few days of driving on dry roads. My friend will do a waterless wash even if the car is covered in salt and he has had good luck , so maybe I am being too picky
 
Real Riders said:
My friend has a black company car and it had a lot of minor scratches. He has been doing waterless washes with Pinnacle Waterless all winter and the car is covered in salt and he actually has less scratches now. I only do regular washes with two buckets on salt covered cars. If the car is just a little dirty from driving in rain I will do a rinseless. I am not a fan of waterless unless the car just has dust from a few days of driving on dry roads. My friend will do a waterless even if the car is covered in salt and he has had good luck , so maybe I am being too picky
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So since he's been doing waterless washes the scratches magically disappeared? No compounding or polishing?
 
DetailingNoob said:
So since he's been doing waterless washes the scratches magically disappeared? No compounding or polishing?
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He had a bunch of light scratches on the trunk maybe from placing his briefcase on the trunk. He has not waxed the car all winter, only the Pinnacle waterless wash covered in salt. I checked out the trunk last week and there are less scratches. Maybe the salt worked as a compound with the Pinnacle waterless. Not sure but there are less scratches. I was surprised to see the results
 
Just02896 said:
I still can't get my head around waterless washing!
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Keep in mind, there are places, here in America and around the world where you do NOT have access or the ability to a water hose and running water to wash a car. Isn't going to happen. So if you want to get your car clean you have to find a different method and at some point, with whatever method you choose, you have to "touch" your car.

The key thens is the thing I'm always harping on is many of my posts and that's understanding how to "touch" your car in a way that you won't scratch it.



thebamboo23 said:
the main key is lubricity

thats why you need a quality solution and quality plush MF towels
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In the last two days I've used a waterless wash to was two VERY dirty cars. I didn't want to use a waterless wash one car because it was covered with tree sap mist and pollen, which formed a sticky paste over all the horizontal surfaces.

The way I approached this car was to spray on a LOT of waterless wash, to the point the car had a complete film of liquid on the horizontal surfaces. I did this to all the horizontal surface to the waterless wash could start soaking in, penetrating this sticky film so I could more easily wipe it off.

I had to go over the car a second time to remove the smears from the first wipe-down because it was so gross.

The second car was my truck and it sat outside at the beach for three days and it too was covered with tree sap mist and pollen. I did the same as above, laid down a HEAVY layer or waterless wash and then used multiple towels to wipe the truck clean.


The dirtier the vehicle, the more product you use and the more towels you need to have at the ready.


:)
 
ducksfan said:
Yeah, I'm serious.

You're using water at hose pressure to initially remove heavy dirt (unless your spraying foam. Not typically what one would consider part of the two bucket system). I'm using a lubricating solution at pressure sprayer pressure.

To get the remaining dirt particles, you're using a mitt saturated with soap solution. I'm using a MF saturated with lubricating solution (rt hand) while providing a steady spray of the same solution (lf hand) on the area the MF is cleaning. You rinse your mitt in a bucket. I change the face of my MF just as often. You do the entire auto the same way. I switch to waterless wash for the areas of light dust.

Yeah, I think my way is just as safe. Plus it's quicker, easier to dry, easier to lay in a spray wax as I'm drying and can be done on the fly (partial wash jobs if I choose).

? something I'm missing?
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I'm not knocking your method. No offense meant! :-)
I guess I should have mentioned that cars around here are covered in salt, sand , and winter grime at the moment. I hit them with a rinse, double foam cannon soak (with CG wash clear), pressure rinse again, and then a 2BM wash. This method takes me a bit of time to complete but on my solid black pickup it eliminates or minimizes the chance of swirls and washing damage. I would be much more likely to give waterless washing a try if 95% of the paint I touch didn't come in filthy!
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Keep in mind, there are places, here in America and around the world where you do NOT have access or the ability to a water hose and running water to wash a car. Isn't going to happen. So if you want to get your car clean you have to find a different method and at some point, with whatever method you choose, you have to "touch" your car.

The key thens is the thing I'm always harping on is many of my posts and that's understanding how to "touch" your car in a way that you won't scratch it.






In the last two days I've used a waterless wash to was two VERY dirty cars. I didn't want to use a waterless wash one car because it was covered with tree sap mist and pollen, which formed a sticky paste over all the horizontal surfaces.

The way I approached this car was to spray on a LOT of waterless wash, to the point the car had a complete film of liquid on the horizontal surfaces. I did this to all the horizontal surface to the waterless wash could start soaking in, penetrating this sticky film so I could more easily wipe it off.

I had to go over the car a second time to remove the smears from the first wipe-down because it was so gross.

The second car was my truck and it sat outside at the beach for three days and it too was covered with tree sap mist and pollen. I did the same as above, laid down a HEAVY layer or waterless wash and then used multiple towels to wipe the truck clean.


The dirtier the vehicle, the more product you use and the more towels you need to have at the ready.


:)
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Believe me when I say that I would LOVE to not have to drag out a pressure washer, foam cannon, hoses, and a blower! However, I just can't see how a waterless wash solution (no matter how much is used) can provide enough of a barrier to prevent abrasive contaminents from digging into the clearcoat as you attempt to wipe it off even by rolling the MF as you wipe and turning the soiled quarters inward. And I just don't see the solution being able to even get between the paint and the stuck on contaminents without mechanical agitation just by spraying it on. I know I'm probably missing out on a great products that would cut wash time down dramatically but I'm just old school, I guess. I do plan on giving it a try come late spring or summer.....On my neighbors car! Lol!
 
As the owner of a black car who has just gone through a bad winter, I think I'm going to change my approach on waterless washes.

Going in, I would run my car though the touchless washes when it was really salt crusted and then follow up with a waterless. Over the winter I've found that by doing this I've still introduced a healthy ammount of light swirls to the paint. My theory is the touchless washes aren't getting enough of the salt grit off the car. I've used plenty of towels and product.

From here on, I think I'm going to keep my waterless washes to the spring/summer Saturday mornings to knock the pollen and dust off a clean car and just live with whatever the touchless can give me in the winter.
 
I know I'm just a beginner but listen to mike it CAN BE DONE. You just have to do it right , maybe he could make a video or article about how to waterless wash a really dirty car that would be awesome!
 
I don't know why people think that car wash soaps/shampoos have something more magical in them than WWs/RWs. The mechanics of a traditional wash and a WW/RW are the same. Just one has suds involved that make people feel they are encapsulating the dirt and gliding it off the paint. If you use improper techniques with either method of washing then damage will surely occur. One major thing people neglect to realize is that with any for of washing, it doesn't matter how much surface area your wash media covers, you are only using the leading edge to actually remove dirt from the surface. Also, flooding and saturating the surface are key to any method of washing. In any regard you have to use common sense and good judgment when washing a vehicle properly. The drying step is a another vital part of the wash process that many over look. You can be as delicate as possible washing the car but, if you follow up with Tue harshest dry process possible (a synthetic chamois) then all the care taken while washing was in vain.
Recently I was visiting a client to do some work on his vehicle that I Opti-Coated about a year ago and I was going over proper wash technique because I noticed what appeared to be defects from improper washing. He too couldn't understand how ONR could be better than his single 2 gallon bucket with an old MF wash mit and some Meg's gold class shampoo. Later, after seeing the synthetic chamois in his trunk, I realized that most of the scratches were from his drying techniques. He was laying the chamois on the paint and dragging it across the panel. It blew my mind that after all I had conveyed to him about using quality MFs he was still drying the car with chamois. He tried convincing me, and himself, that the one he uses has dimples so it must be as safe as a waffle weave. Not so much.
Now he is in the market for waffle weave drying towels, and a new detailed that doesn't critique his every detailing move, and product.jk lol
 
My cars paint is nearly flawless and I have used a waterless wash since day one. I have had my car almost two years now and have washed it at least 100 times with Chemical Guys Eco Waterless Wash. I've even used it with my car covered in salt and road grim just to test it out, the result was that I had to go over the area two to three times each time using a clean section, but it worked just fine.

As with anything detail related it is about TECHNIQUE. If you use it the way it is supposed to be used with the type of microfiber it is suppposed to be used with you will have zero issues.
 
While on the subject of micro fibers I need a ton to start my mobile detailing but cant afford the super nice ones I wish I could have so are like the big packs of cheaper ones ok ? im not detailing Ferrari's or anything right now but am doing some decent cars soon.
 
muscleman said:
While on the subject of micro fibers I need a ton to start my mobile detailing but cant afford the super nice ones I wish I could have so are like the big packs of cheaper ones ok ? im not detailing Ferrari's or anything right now but am doing some decent cars soon.
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I like the one sold here at Autogeek better, but if you buy in bulk at chemical guys you can get a decent deal, or some people use the ones sold at Sam's Club. Starting out I would at least get three different colors for different types duties.
 
So I don't have any first hand experience with using a water-less wash system, but I do find it to be an interesting topic...

My question is though are there any advantages to the water-less wash system over the traditional soap and bucket method?

Once again I have no first hand experience with this method, but on the surface of things it would appear that as long as your technique is "correct" that your risk to the pain surface is not greater then when using the traditional method. However it also appears that a water-less wash system would be a lot more costly at least initially as you would need a number of microfiber towels to do a whole car? ESP one that is driven say in the northern states where there is a lot of ice melt used?

Any thoughts on this?
 
RubbishReview said:
So I don't have any first hand experience with using a water-less wash system, but I do find it to be an interesting topic...

My question is though are there any advantages to the water-less wash system over the traditional soap and bucket method?

Once again I have no first hand experience with this method, but on the surface of things it would appear that as long as your technique is "correct" that your risk to the pain surface is not greater then when using the traditional method. However it also appears that a water-less wash system would be a lot more costly at least initially as you would need a number of microfiber towels to do a whole car? ESP one that is driven say in the northern states where there is a lot of ice melt used?

Any thoughts on this?
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The advantage cost and time wise go to the two bucket wash. I only use bucket wash when a vehicle is really dirty though because when you use a waterless wash you are essentially cleaning and drying the vehicle in one step so this is helpful to me when I am detailing for profit. I can start washing the roof and glass then I can let my helper continue to wash around in a certain sequence and I can immediately start claying/polishing/waxing the car while they finish the washing process. If I was by myself though, i would use the two bucket method and use a nanoscrub towel instead of claying then blow it dry. It really comes down to if you have help/what vehicle it is and the condition of the vehicle in question.
 
My question is though are there any advantages to the water-less wash system over the traditional soap and bucket method?

you dont have to hassle with the hose and fill 3 buckets with 12 gallons of water, much less of a mess (none at all), a lot quicker, saves time, you can wash it in whatever temperature, you can wash it wherever.. im sure theres more

edit:
on a lightly soiled car, people sometimes do the following:
-rinse
-foam
-rinse
-wash
-rinse
-clay
-rinse
-dry
which is okay, but you do spend a lot of time on the first few steps

this is what i do:
-onr/ww (dry as i go)
-clay (dry as i go)
-wax/polish/etc
 
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